Google’s latest project can turn anyone into the next Banksy

Google has a new initiative called Project Tango. And it’s about to change the graffiti game forever.

What could Google possibly contribute to the global street art movement? Maybe something like Google Street View? No, not that. Something like Google Translate then, which can explain graffiti to the uninitiated? Good guess, but no.

Google has planned something much cooler and more interactive. It’s called Project Tango, and it’s going to allow anyone with a phone to become a serious graffiti artist.

So how does it work? By using depth-sensing technology, allowing you to map virtual images onto real physical surfaces. It makes a lot more sense if you see it in action, so check out the demo below:

So how badly do you want to try out Project Tango? If you’re in the market for a new phone, you can get a head start on that by picking up the Lenovo Phab 2 Pro phone, which will be the first device to have Project Tango built right into it.

And by the way: the SketchAR app is available on Apple devices as well, although obviously they’re not going to have Project Tango, given the eternal blood feud between Apple and Google.

And SketchAR itself looks pretty cool:

Although some reviews of its functionality on Apple devices have been less than positive. So if you’re really dying to get a head start on graffiti — or cheating, as some would call it — probably better to stick with a device that can run Project Tango through SketchAR, like the Phab 2 Pro mentioned above.

The results here are cool enough without even knowing anything about how the underlying technology works. But if you’d like to know a bit more about Project Tango, you can find out more in this short video:

Pretty amazing. Between augmented reality tech like SketchAR and Project Tango, as well as immersive virtual reality tech poised to break through into the mainstream any day now, we’re on the cusp of multiple revolutions — in art, in education, in gaming, in porn — and in just about everything else.